A family cafe is being forced to close down after the owners were repeatedly abused and called 'racist' - all because they put Union Jack and England flags in their food.

Tiny toothpicks with the flags have been inserted in fry up's since Cafe 164 opened in Hornchurch, east
London, in 2016.

But Carol Brown and daughter Candy Merrett faced a wave of abuse - mainly from people who had never eaten there, recently.

Since the World Cup this summer the flags began to get a negative response, Candy, 30, said.

The mum-of-one said three to four customers every week have moaning about the one-inch flags stuck in their toast, sandwiches and Full English breakfasts.

Station 164 is being forced to close after the owners got lashed with a barrage of online abuse about the 'racist' toothpicks they stuck in Full English breakfasts

On Thursday, Candy said she had received so much abuse on social media over the the novelty flags she will close the London themed cafe at the end of the month.

Earlier this week, she posted on the cafe's Facebook page, slamming detractors, initially saying she would not back down.

She wrote: 'Patriotic and proud not prejudice.

'After two years of running our little cafe we have encountered our first disapproval from a couple of customers.

'Any of our customers, past and present will know that we send all our food out with an England or Union Jack flag in it, this is not to insult or induce any feeling other than Great British pride.

The owners of Station 164 cafe in Hornchurch were initially defiant - but have decided to call time on their business over abuse

'We are a little London cafe, we are British, English and Londoners. We will not feel ashamed to put little flags in our food.

'We will not be stopping. We are patriotic, not 'pathetic' as someone called us last week. We celebrate our country.'

Candy said some people had been going into the cafe purely to throw the flags on the floor.

However, it was later claimed they were going to close.

One reviewer on TripAdvisor called Aoneilly complained: 'All they were interested in was picking up tooth pick flags that nearly got stuck in my lip.

'You shouldn't hide these tooth pick flags in food their dangerous and nearly chocked me, they seemed to get upset when I spat it out on the floor suggesting I go back to my own country if I didn't like it, which incidentally is East London.'

But Nigel rushed to the cafe's defence, adding: 'Quintessential British cafe.

'Don't come here if you're following the latest fad-food diet, but if you like your traditional fare, this place is first class.

Carol Brown and daughter Candy Merrett are shutting their greasy spoon after receiving complaints, some from people who weren't even customers, moaning about the tiny patriotic toothpick Union and England flags

'And to all those who complain that serving your food with a little Union Jack is racist - go east somewhere else and leave those of us who love it in peace. I will eat here again and again and again.'

Commenting online, Richard White wrote: 'Anyone who finds this racist should be deported from the UK, regardless of creed or colour.

'They can have a good, long think about what it means to be British and all the benefits that entails.'

Out of 38 TripAdvisor reviews, 34 rated the cafe as 'excellent'.

Advertisement

Share or comment on this article:

Family say they have been forced to close cafe after complaints over the Union Jack flags in food